Yesterday afternoon, a swath of Trump supporters tore through the Capitol during an hours-long siege. One of the rioters, a shirtless QAnon supporter with a pair of horns on his head, started trending on social media when Twitter users noted he looked like Jay Kay, the lead singer of Jamiroquai. Now, the goofy disco-funk artist has taken to social media to confirm that it wasn’t him.
The Trump supporter has since been identified as Jake Angeli, a 32-year-old QAnon conspiracy theorist who regularly attends far-right rallies in Arizona. According to an interview with The Arizona Republic, he wears a fur bonnet, paints his face, and walks around shirtless to attract attention. He believes the tactic helps him draw curious onlookers who will hear him preach about QAnon.
Of course, most Twitter users were joking when they compared the Trump supporter’s Viking horns to the various over-the-top headgear that Kay wears onstage, which ranges from glow-in-the-dark spikes to ornate feathered helmets. That didn’t stop Kay from doing the right thing and verifying the fact that he wasn’t, in fact, part of a right-wing infiltration of the US Capitol.
“Good Morning Washington,” Kay tweeted from the official Jamiroquai account. “Loving the headgear, but not sure that’s my crowd. Stay safe everyone.”
Accompanying the post is a video in which the Automaton singer laughs about the absurd mix-up from the comfort of his home in the UK. “Some of you may be thinking you saw me in Washington last night, but I’m afraid I wasn’t with all those freaks,” he laughs. “Just to say, yeah, happy new year to all of you! Haven’t seen you for ages. I’m locked down in the UK.”
Kay goes on to thank Jamiroquai fans for wishing him a happy birthday last month and says he hopes the band can tour again soon when it’s safe to do so. “COVID 19 still going on, UK in lockdown. However, the way we treat our animals — farming them, caging them, all the rest of it — we’re just going to keep getting this again and again, so hopefully we’ll try and learn our lesson.” Watch the full clip below.
Good Morning Washington, loving the headgear, but not sure that's my crowd. Stay safe everyone, J xxx pic.twitter.com/8Fuime28cc
— Jamiroquai (@JamiroquaiHQ) January 7, 2021
